Richie has finally spoken to his mates about the scandal, explaining that he is heartbroken, crying all the time and barely eating. It probs doesn’t help that pictures of Alex and her girlfriend, Maegan Luxa, are knocking around pretty much every news site, meaning old mate Richie has to see his ex having a great time with someone new.

The news really has hit Richie hard, with a friend of his telling New Idea, “He had no idea that Alex had already started a relationship with a chick from footy. He still loves her — you can’t turn real feelings off.”

Another friend of the 32 year-old rope technician said, “The only way to put it is that Rich is totally heartbroken — he really is shattered. He feels as though his world, dreams and hopes have come crashing down, literally overnight.”

Though this is devastating to hear, it seems a little odd, as rumours were floating around months ago that the two had split — their last public outing together was at the Logies, in what seemed like a forced appearance for publicity.

Their relationship breakdown was, supposedly, due to Richie having to move back to Perth more permanently because of work (and to earn that cash dollar y’all), meaning he was away from Alex for longer stints of time, putting a strain on their relationship.

Apparently, he was just going to return to Perth to save up enough money to move to Melbourne and really give things a go with Alex, but the time apart was enough for the relationship to break down.

Unfortunately, Richie had already just put his Perth house on the market so he could relocate to Melbourne and settle down with Alex and her son, Elijah — but then the scandal broke and he has stayed put in Perth.

“Richie wanted nothing more than to settle down with Alex and her little boy,” says a close friend of The Bachelor star. “He is a homebody who had started planning their own kids and a proper future.”

Neither Richie or Alex have given direct quotes on the split (or the new relationship), but we wish them all the best, whatever the outcome may be.